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MAY 2004 MARC GROSSMAN
MEETING
ATAA Visits Amb. Mark Grossman On May 12, undersecretary
H. E. Ambassador Mark Grossman, the third highest person
in the U.S. State Department, received the ATAA
leadership and a delegation of ATAA membership for a
visit to discuss the developments following the
referendum in Cyprus. Attending the meeting were ATAA
President Mr. Ercument Kilic, ATAA Component Association
MATA President Orhan Suleiman, and ATAA members Dr. Ali
Manizade, Dr. Fevziye Manizade, Mr. Semsi Yozgat, Mr.
David Saltzman, and Mr. Gunay Evinc.
ATAA delegation pointed out that Turkish Cypriots have
shown their goodwill by voting 'yes' to the Annan Plan
in large numbers in order to reunite Cyprus even though
they would be required to relocate in large numbers
during the reunification process. Turkish Cypriots have
been living in total peace since 1974. Their courageous
approach made the yes vote even more meaningful when one
considers the pain and the suffering of the
Turkish-Cypriots prior to 1974. The ATAA delegation also
brought forward the following matters of concern to the
Under Secretary's attention:
The economic embargo to which the North has been
subjected needs to be reconsidered by both the United
States and Europeans, and steps need to be taken in the
right direction for the immediate lifting of the trade
barriers to bring an end to the economic hardship
unfairly shouldered by the Turkish-Cypriots. The direct
flight restrictions from other part of the world to the
North need to be lifted. There is an unequal treatment
of the North and the South in many areas by the Unites
States. While visas for up to 10 years are common for
the Greek-Cypriots, the Turkish-Cypriots may only
receive visas only up to 3-6 months. There is even an
unfair proportion of Fulbright Scholarship offered to
the Greek-Cypriots. This type of unequal treatment of
the North and the South need to be reconsidered. In
addition, The ATAA desired a heightened level of status
brought to the American representative office in TRNC
(Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus), as well as a
consideration given to raising the status of TRNC in
Washington, D.C. Also, despite fact that President Rauf
Denktas's recent approach to the referendum has not
appealed to a big proportion of the Turkish-Cypriots, he
ought to be recognized by the U.S. for his past
important contributions to the Turkish-Cypriots in the
North.
Ambassador Grossman in his reply stated that he truly
believed that there would have been two 'yes' votes
during the referendum, and that this would have made
Turkey position even stronger to be admitted to the
European Union. He also indicated that the Annan Plan
may just not have been the best and that it could have
had certain deficiencies in it, however it was the best
of its kind, and it brought both sides closest to an
agreement, and the Unites States would pursue other
opportunities to revive it in the future. He agreed with
ATAA on the issue of relaxing the economic embargo on
the North, but noted that it was a process that would
take some time. The Ambassador mentioned that the rest
of the matters brought up were all within reason and
that they did not conflict with the interests of the
United States.
He also reminded the ATAA leadership that the EU's
earlier deal with Turkey used to be that 'Turkey meets
the Copenhagen Criteria, and Turkey gets a date.' The
Ambassador said that Turkey has made every attempt to
meet the Copenhagen Criteria for entrance into the
European Union and that the reunification was not one of
the preconditions of the said criteria. He also said
"You will find us not defeated in our pursuit for
Turkey's entry into the EU, and bringing an end to the
isolation of Northern Cyprus. If EU isn't smart enough
to give a date to Turkey at the end of this year, it is
a bad thing for the EU, and it is a bad thing for the
United States." Mr. Grossman also stated "As someone who
has lived in Turkey for 6 years, I can say that Turkey
is not what it used to be. Even over the last 12 years,
Turkey has changed dramatically, and has made every
attempt to be a more democratic, honest and open
society. Are there still human rights challenges?
Absolutely. But nobody can say that Turkey has not taken
a hold of its society."
When the meeting drew to a close, Mr. Grossman made a
kind gesture which we are told is offered only after
successful visits with the State Department, and invited
ATAA back for a visit in six months, and he promised to
revisit the issues then and evaluate the progress.
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OCTOBER 2004 MARC
GROSSMAN MEETING
"I won't get on a roof top, advertising it everyday."
"I make a lot of calls to the Greeks, and the members of
congress who support the Greeks, telling them ‘Here is
what we are going to do"
"One million displaced Azerbaijanis are a concern to us
as well."
"I can not speak for the administration, however,
speaking as a carrier diplomat, I would not expect the
administration to sway from the current status."
Ambassador Marc Grossman, Deputy Under Secretary at the
U.S. State Department received ATAA leadership for a
second time this year. I attended the meeting along with
ATAA members Turan Tombul, Dr. Ali Manizade, Gunay
Evinc, Orhan Suleiman, David Saltzman, and Oya Bain. We
had met Amb. Grossman in May of this year.
The conversation had revolved around the developments in
Cyprus after the referendum. After sharing with us some
very pleasant news Amb. Grossman had invited us back in
6 months to follow up on the developments. (Please refer
to www.ataa.org for a report of the last meeting) I
opened up the meeting on behalf of the group, thanking
the Ambassador for receiving us, and conveying something
that I had heard about to him: "If he invites you back,
that means he likes you," and stated that, hopefully
that was the case for us to be able to appear before him
once again.
The following are excerpts of what Ambassador Grossman
has told us:
* “Turkish side's favorable response is a great thing;
Sorry the other side rejected the Annan Plan. We were
prepared however for either result. We have taken the
steps originally planed for a possible outcome such as
this. Out of the wish list of 20-30 items for
Turkish-Cypriots, we are accomplishing little by little
all that is desired. Prior the referendum, we did not
want to make a big deal, however, we have accomplished
about 8-9 of the items on the list. We will accomplish
it all, just short of formally recognizing TRNC. The
items we accomplished have been clearly stated to all
parties concerned as well as the Greeks, however we
still prefer not taking a high profile stand after
completing each item. Yes, we have been questioned by
the Greeks, but we have said, ‘No, we'll stay with the
plan.’ As a matter of fact, I make a lot of calls to the
Greeks, and the members of congress who support the
Greeks, telling them "Here is what we are going to do".
* “Ambassador Klosson makes no secret of his visits to
the TRNC officials. We are doing everything to end the
isolation of TRNC. Even Papadopoulos is not anymore
worried about opening Ercan Airport. We make no secrets
of our works. It doesn't bother me that our actions are
well known, although I won't get on a rooftop,
advertising it everyday.
* “We have allocated $30.5m of aid to go directly to
Northern Cyprus.
* “We have asked FAA (Federal Aviation Administration)
to make the necessary investigations at Ercan Airport,
so that the safety precaution questions are answered in
advance for when the airport will be open for flights
from countries other than just Turkey.
* “We have addressed your concerns of the visa
applications of the Turkish Cypriots coming to the US.
Previously the visas were issued for only up to 3
months. Now the Turks are issued multiple-entry visas
good for up-to 2 years.
* “With these US steps, we will go to European Union and
ask them to follow suit.
* “A couple of years ago, the Greeks asked for a US law
passed so that the Turks would not enter military
equipment, or outside military assistance into the
island, to the Northern side. During the negotiations,
it was decided that the law were to apply to both sides.
However, they broke to same rule which was to be applied
to Turkey. For the first couple of years we tried for a
diplomatic solution. When we did not prevail, we
informed the congress and asked for action. Interesting
thing: The Greeks were the party who asked for the law.”
Ambassador Grossman also did mention that a good will
gesture, to which foreign minister Abdullah Gül had
alluded, might be an excellent development. Mr. Gül
recently had indicated that his government might not be
opposing to the reopening of the Greek Orthodox Seminary
in Istanbul. When Amb. Grossman referred to the Seminary
with its Greek name "Halki", Oya Bain reminded that
Turks call it: "Heybeliada."
After the conversation on Greece, I mentioned that the
so-called "Armenian Genocide" issue was weighing in the
minds of Turkish-Americans heavily, and that we recently
had a meeting with the campaign officials of the
Democratic Party, Mr. Rand Beers and George Kevork. In
the meeting, I brought up the issue and my concern of
his supporting statements of the Armenians. I asked the
Ambassador whether we could expect the same approach of
the administration to continue in the future, should
President Bush get reelected. He stated that he could
not speak for the administration, but as a carrier
diplomat, he could only state that we would not expect a
sway from the current status. However, he added
concerning the current relations between Turkey and
Armenia that Turkey is a country of 65 million, and
Armenia is only 5 million. All the mayors of all the
cities of Eastern Turkey would want today that the
Armenian border be opened. Ambassador Grossman stated
that he wasn't saying that the Armenian society was
great in all aspects, but "You can either isolate
people, or engage with them. Turkey is such a strong
country that its own self-confidence should precede
everything else. Turkey's geography, people, population,
power allows her to put the burden on herself to bank
for the future.”
I reminded the Ambassador that only until recently,
however small, there were murmurs of "Let's put it
behind us somehow." However, the Armenian demands have
not diminished. Instead, there is a rise in their
activities. Their attempts to collect monies from the
American insurance companies who did business within the
Ottoman Empire is a long term attempt to get Turkey
involved in the scuffle and to cause the economic and
political ties of Turkey and the US to be severed in the
near future. In addition, I brought up the fact that
ATAA made an official visit to Azerbaijan last summer,
the Karabag issue, and the one million displaced refugee
issues who are weighing high in the minds of the
Azerbaijanis, and stated that we hoped for more active
help more the United States. Ambassador Grossman shared
our concern and affirmed that America would do all that
it could to bring a sensible solution the ongoing
struggle.
With respect to the Armenian issue, Günay Evinc made the
following points: The issue in the minds of the Turks is
three layered: - In the 1st level of analysis, the
matter is purely an allegation, and is not a proven
crime. All crimes must be prosecuted. This has not been
a proven crime as far as the international courts and
the law are concerned. - The second is that if the US
recognizes the Armenian allegations, she will put
herself in a position to take action according to the UN
Convention. If the US Congress and US call this a
“genocide,” and they do not take action, she will put
itself under an unnecessary predicament. The US does not
need to place herself in that predicament. - The 3rd
layer of the issue is the following: The vast majority
of the Turks do not believe in the so-called, Armenian
Genocide. However, when considering lesser crimes, both
parties may find a common ground. Such crimes were
committed by both parties against each other during the
revolts, which the Armenian citizens of the Ottoman
Empire performed against the state.
In conclusion, overall we, as Turkish-Americans, must
not expect all that we perceive to be best for us out of
the type of meetings similar to the one we held with
Ambassador Grossman. What is most important, however, is
that we are seen as the civil Turkish, and as NGO
(non-governmental organization) entities! We as ATAA
have done our best this year to appear before the
administration and the congress as often as possible
(please refer to www.ataa.org). As ATAA, we have also
persuaded two congressmen to join the Turkish Caucus
this year. Therefore, as we have reminded to our friends
in the past, in the name of promoting Turkey, we all
need to remove ourselves from the spectator positions in
the stands, and get down on the playing field. Until
now, our elected officials and the American government
had been hearing from us mostly through the mail. NOW,
THOUGH, WE ARE OUT THERE, AND THEY MEET US FACE-TO-FACE.
And, that is the name of this game. With your active
support and help, ATAA will do more in the future for
all of us and homeland Turkey, Turks in Cyprus and
around the world.
Sincerely, Ercument Kilic President, ATAA
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